-- 2/18 TNA Impact Reax

Todd of Greenville, N.C. (9.5): Best Segment: A.J. Styles/Flair-Pope. Worst Segment: Orlando Jordan pinning Samoa Joe. Overall, great show that loses a point by having Orlando Jordan pin Samoa Joe, but gains a half-point for not having the Nasty Boys on TV! The opening segment was great. The Pope is money and A.J. Styles finally has a character to go along with his in-ring ability. Flair seems inspired in his role and I am anxious to see if this is the beginning of a 4 Horseman type stable with Flair and A.J. The segment with Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson was right below the opening segment. I despised Mr. Anderson when he was Mr. Kennedy in WWE and thought he was a waste of airtime. I was really disappointed when he was the surprise that they talked about coming to TNA. For the first time, I am interested in his character. Maybe it's because they are letting him loose on the mic, I don't know. Hogan-Abyss was also good. I don't care if it's an "almighty ring" that does it or not, but as long as the whiny Abyss is gone, I'm happy. I also liked the Samoa Joe kidnapping angle and I am ready to see where it goes. Just a great show overall, and no Nasty Boys!

Richard H. of Wilmington, Ohio (5.5): Best Match: X Division eight-man tag. Worst Match: Tara vs. Daffney. Yet another scatter shot edition of the Hogan & Bischoff variety hour. It was fine for some exciting matches and developing storylines along with the same old politics as usual. As for the stepchildren of the X Division, they finally get a chance to show off leading to Destination X and yet TNA puts eight of the company's best performers in a single short match fighting to get in half of their signature moves. The Guns and Generation Me were particularly robbed of performance time by being squeezed into this match. By the way, how can a match generate buzz when eight performers are given fewer than five minutes? At least they didn't cut to commercial in the middle of the action. The backstage angles, which seem to get all the important air time, ranged from the sublime of Hogan's over-the-top pep talk to Abyss to the ludicrous "kidnapping" of Samoa Joe and repeated beatdowns that lasted longer than the matches. There was approximately 28 minutes of action in the ring, but this week, they added at least 30 minutes of outside-the-ring brawling, beat downs and back-jumping. If this is the product they are going to put on against Raw, they might be in trouble, especially with the main draw - Hulk Hogan returning to the ring on March 8 - partially sabotaged by Hogan himself when he admitted in his pep talk that he was a virtual cripple and barely able to get out of bed, let alone wrestle anymore. But, they don't expect the fans to pay close attention to details, do they?

Sonny of Chicago, Ill. (8.5): Best Segment: Pope vs. Styles/Flair. Best Match: X Division. Worst Match: Kurt Angle/Daniels. First off, I know it's hard for a lot of people to accept change. They fear what they don't understand and, of course, their first reaction is to attack something new. I disagree with some of the moves TNA is making, like having the Fallen Angel job, having Samoa Joe job, and not showcasing Desmond Wolfe more. However, looking at both Raw and Impact this week, TNA delivered. I'm not saying everything on Impact was good, like Orlando Jordan winning, but as far as storylines advancing, they did a good job. The Pope is a star in the making. Also, the Samoa Joe angle is intriguing. To me, it seems like something new that came out of nowhere. Then you have Bret Hart getting his leg "crushed" by a woman on Raw. Okay, it's interesting because it's Bret, but we've been there, done that. Hogan and Abyss was a good segment. I have been tired of this "Eugene" version of Abyss, and it's cool that they used Hogan's WWE Hall of Fame ring in that storyline considering WrestleMania and HOF weekend is around the corner.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "TNA TV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Impact, click here.

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